Saturday, September 25, 2004

University Church, Dublin

Earlier this month Andrew Cusack blogged about Newman's University Church in Dublin. I've had the opportunity of visiting this 'bricks and mortar' testament to Newman's time in Dublin. It also bears witness to the generosity of the many people who donated money to assist Newman during the Achilli libel trial. Newman came out of the affair with a legal defeat and a moral victory and the surplus in his defence fund helped fund the building of this Byzantine gem in that most unByzantine of cities
In his post Cusack mentions the modest facade. It is interesting to note that the facade and long porch leading into the church are not those of the original design. Newman was forced to add them when he realised that the walls of the adjoining houses were liable to collapse and so the new facade and porch were added to provide support for these houses. Mark R uses the word 'barn' in his comment - in his own initial 'brainstorming' with the architect, Newman himself specified that he wanted the church to be a barn and emphasised the necessity of it being well-suited to preaching.

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